A clown and a mind reader sought to find work in the General Services Administration today, as the congressional probe into the GSA’s $800,000 Las Vegas conference continued. The 2010 conference featured a clown, a mind reader, and a magician, among other costly diversions.
Seeking to capitalize on the opportunity, the unemployed clown and mind reader staked out the hearings, hoping to catch a GSA witness on the way to testify. Armed with resumes, the out-of-work entertainers aimed to find jobs at the government agency known to have use for their skill sets.
The stunt was part of Bankrupting America, a project of Public Notice meant to draw attention to the government’s spendthrift habits in light of the country’s economic struggles.
Politico’s Huddle broke the story this morning:
Send in the clowns and mind readers. Nonprofit group Public Notice plans to have some fun with today’s GSA hearings. They plan to bracket them with a clown and a mindreader, who will be standing at the corner of C and 1st streets NE from 8:30 to 10 a.m. "Both will have resumes in hand should any of the GSA witnesses happen to come by and be looking to hire another clown and mindreader for their next conference," emails Jim Landry, who just started his new gig at Public Notice. The stunt is aimed at promoting the group’s Bankrupting America project, which focuses on careless policymaking as it relates to the country’s economic problems.
Gretchen Hamel, Executive Director of Public Notice, defended the entertainers, telling the WFB, "It's a tough economy, so it makes sense for an experienced clown and mind reader to submit resumes to a federal agency that's shown a willingness to hire for those positions. In all seriousness though, the outrageous bills racked up by the individuals at GSA are symptomatic of the sprawling federal bureaucracy and its lack of accountability to taxpayers. Bankrupting America hopes this tongue-in-cheek show will highlight the wasteful spending occurring throughout the federal government."
